Where Have I Been?!?

I'm sitting here wishing the wings on Sara's airplane would have fallen off right before she got on.

I just dropped her off at the airport a few hours ago, because she has been here visiting me for the last 2 weeks. This is the reason I haven't really posted much in that time.

We had such an amazing time together, and we were both so thankful that God made her a way to come and see what I am experiencing with not just her ears on the phone, but with her eyes in person.

We packed the time full with stuff to give her the full Malawian experience as much as you can in 2 weeks. I was lucky in that I was able to take a little time off of work and travel a bit, and she was able to do some of the work along side me as well.

Here's a brief rundown of what's been happening in my life for the last 2 weeks...

First crack out of the bag, we got all dressed up and went to a birthday party for a Malawian friend of mine. It was a really fun time to see a different side of Malawian culture that rarely gets publicity. I think Sara was a bit afraid that she wasn't going to experience anything truly "Malawian" in her stay here after this party... it was quite a snapshot from the West.

The next morning, we took a little day trip to the tallest mountain between South Africa and Kenya or somewhere, Mount Mulanje. It was so incredible! The hour long drive to the mountain from where I live is one of the most beautiful drives in Malawi. You drive right through the area of Malawi where all the tea plantations are. Considering we are now in rainy season, there were rolling hills for miles with some of the most beautiful lush crops you could imagine.

While at the mountain, we hiked up to this really nice waterfall and I decided I would jump in the really cold water and swim around a bit. It was quite invigorating!

Later that week, I arranged for Sara to go out with me and one of the Malawian guys that I work with to one of the villages in the south of Malawi where we do Home-Based Care. This village is way in the middle of nowhere along the Mozambique border.

The drive down to that part of the country is one of my favorites though. Coming out of the mountains where I live, you get some of the most incredible views!

After driving for a few hours, I suddenly noticed a strong hissing noise coming from behind me... so, I brought the Pajero to a quick stop and realized that not 1, but BOTH, of the back tires had simultaneously exhaled on me!

At this point, I knew we were going to be in for an interesting two days! After several hours of sitting in the car playing card games while someone goes to the nearest village on foot to fix one of our tires, we were on our way.

Sara was definitely able to get a taste of village life on this trip. It was also really good for her to be able to see some of what I am doing around here. She was able to go around with our amazing volunteers and visit with patients that we see weekly.

But... I think we were both ready to get back to running water and good cooking!

With only about a day of rest from traveling, we loaded up the truck once more with two other friends and headed to Lake Malawi!

The lake is so beautiful!

We spent two nights camping on the beach at a place that makes pottery. So, when we weren't swimming or reading on the beach, we were in the workshop painting our own pottery!

This trip allowed us to see a lot of the country as we drove to the lake as well.

Between all the side trips, we spent plenty of time sitting around and talking about the deep things of life and just enjoying each others company.

It was really sad to have to sit on the roof of the airport and watch her plane fly up, up and away from me. But, I am really happy that we were able to do so much while she was here.

I know that she was able to learn so much while she was here, and it really helped me to have someone to bounce my thoughts off of about everything that I am experiencing.

I will miss you!

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree!

,

Christmas has just vomited all over my living room!!

AND I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This afternoon I drove home to see two beautiful boxes waiting on the porch for me to tear into them. I was really thrilled.

I opened them to find a complete supply of everything that I would need to enjoy Christmas the all-American way.

The packages came from some ladies that I haven't even met before from St. Elizabeth Hospital... but, they definitely know how to be a blessing!

Wow... I am without words...

A huge, heart-felt hug goes out to you ladies from Malawi!

In combination with the plethora of items that my mom sent with Sara to make my Malawian Christmas one that I won't forget, my living room now looks like a department store the day after Thanksgiving!... and my pantry is stocked to see me through the "winter".

Just know that this white boy is showing his big white teeth right now!

Ndikuphunzira Chichewa...

Muli Bwanji?
How Are You?

Well... my language learning is coming along quite nicely.

I finally got a language helper that I meet with once or twice a week for an hour or so. He is a great guy from the church that I go to here.

I am building up my vocabulary little by little.

One of the best things I did for myself was labeling my entire house in Chichewa (as seen in the picture above)!

So now, every time I use the restroom, I stand there and repeat the word aloud until I'm done. Let's just say that I know the word "Chimbudzi" better than any of the others!

But, I've also labeled most of my food items. So, while I'm cooking at night, it's a nice little Chichewa lesson.

In a lot of ways, the language is much easier to learn than English is. However, there are a few things that make for substantial stumbling blocks.

Overall though, I am making progress... and people are noticing!!

Every once in a while, I will whip out some phrase that I know and shock people.

However, the other day, I was getting a little too comfortable with myself when I was walking through my yard. I walked past this little girl...

Rachel...

She lives on our property... so, she was no stranger.

But, she was wearing this really nice little dress... and I wanted to be a nice good male figure in her life and tell her that I thought her dress looked pretty.

So, without hesitation, I said...

Ndikufuna delesi.

Immediately I knew that the wires didn't cross right in my brain... my mouth did not communicate what my English brain meant to say.

I said: "I WANT your dress."

I stood there for a second kinda stunned, while she was just staring at me like I was some mixed up, cross-dressing, white man. The bad part was that my mind was blank as to how I could correct myself.

So... In a really awkward, Ryan manner, I just fumbled around and said, "No" and walked off.

I felt like a complete idiot.

So... I guess what I'm saying is that I have got to the point where I have just enough language expertise to make a fool out of myself.

25 Cents...

Lately I have been questioning the definitions that I find of the word: Poverty

As of yet, I haven't been able to find one that satisfies what I am seeing with my eyes... or feeling in my heart.

It's not that these definitions are wrong or completely off base...

I just feel like they are only dealing with surface level issues... the issues that we in the West don't seem to struggle with all that much.

We want so bad to be able to quantify poverty, when it is much more of a qualitative concept. Meaning... we want to be able to draw a line with a dollar sign because it's easy. We don't want to recognize that poverty portrays itself on all sorts levels.

We rarely like to talk about the poverty that exists in the beautifully landscaped suburbs in western countries. The kind of poverty that removes front porches from houses and places them behind the house and behind a tall wood fence, forsaking the community and relationships around them.

Forget about the poverty that keeps men at their work places until late hours of the night while their wife is taking care of 4 kids at home by herself.

What about the poverty that comes when we loose sight of the fact that when we hold on to our money too tight, we loose so much more in life.

The poverty found in selfishness...

The poverty found in possessions...

Poverty has many faces... that's for sure.

Each of us, in some area of our lives, are impoverished.

A few nights ago, I made a few cups of tea and walked out my front door for a nice chat with my friend Jackson who looks after our property during the night. We talked for a long while about all sorts of things. Mainly, comparing things in Malawi to things in the States. He was really curious about all sorts of things... from eating goats to how old people are when they get married.

We began talking about how much money it costs to live in America for 1 day.

Although it's really hard to come up with a hard-fast answer to that question, I took a figure out of the sky that sounded about right for a middle-class American.

$20-30

I feel like I shot pretty low.

Most college students that I know spend more than that on coffee and fast food alone in a day.

He was pretty blown away.

So, I decided to pry a bit. I asked him how much his family of 5 lives on in a month.

7,000MK = $50.00

At first that figure is a little hard to process...

I pulled out my handy-dandy cellphone with a calculator in it to make it easier for me to understand.

We went through it step by step together...

First, we pulled off 1,200MK for rent each month.

Then, divided that number by 5.

Divided that number by 30 (days in a month).

Then, converted that to USD (divided by 140).

I nearly dropped my phone when the number came up...

25 cents.



Each person in his family on lives on 25 cents a day. We proceeded to talk about how hard it is to buy clothes for children on that amount of money. There is never money left over for luxuries. They never eat meat or chicken. Each day, their diet consists of nsima (flour/water mixture) and a small portion of over-cooked, nutrient deficient vegetables.

No bread...

No tea...

Palibe (nothing)!

Meanwhile, I spend the next day making a meal that was literally the direct opposite of their diet... CHILI. A meal that is solid beef!

As hopeless as that story may sound... I stood there next to Jackson and encouraged him that his riches far surpass millions of people in the West.

Yes... he is rather short on cash.

Yes... that does translate to a life that leaves you constrained.

But, I'm telling you... you should see this guy smile!

He is such a hard worker. I have never seen him in a bad mood. He is not tied down by a house full of possessions and credit card debt that is eating at his insides night after night.

Last week, I met a guy that challenged me in some incredible ways. He is a missionary from South Africa working here in Malawi... but, doing things way different.

One of the many things that he challenged me to think about was the thought that every sentiment of "poverty" that people feel here in Malawi about themselves was imported here from the West. It wasn't until someone came in and told a lady in a village that she lived in poverty because she lacks a gas stove that she felt impoverished.

Yes... we all deserve to have access to some basic necessities of life. But, who left all the Westerners in charge of deciding which things were more noble... riches or relationships.

Yes... poverty is real. It's real all over the world. We need to address it in Malawi... but, we also need to look in a mirror at our own lives and examine the things that impoverish each of us.

Click here to test your knowledge on HIV/AIDS...

Love Is In the Air...

Love is in the air in Blantyre...

Of course I'm not referring to myself!

This weekend, I had the extreme honor of being the Best Man in my friend, Kondwani's wedding.


So... throw all your preconceived ideas about a wedding out of your head and travel on this excited journey with me!

The day started out bright and early for me on a hot Saturday morning at 5:30. As much as waking up that early is like a quick slit to my neck usually, I was so excited about the day that I woke up with no problem, and was ready for all that the day had in store for me.

I've heard so many stories about what to expect and stuff... but, honestly in order to really know what I had gotten in to, I just had to do it.

I realized early in the morning that I had better just throw my watch to the side, because it would be pointless. We had strict instructions to be there NO LATER than 7:00 am. Well... I sat on my porch waiting for my ride at 7:15 am, with a 30 minute drive to the church ahead of us. I was getting all worried and stuff... but, it was no big deal. In fact, we went out of our way to pick up the groom's grandparents before we ever made it to the church.

After spending the morning with the groom and other groomsman in a nearby house, getting interviewed and deciding what our wardrobe would actually look like for the day, we headed down to the church a few minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to start (which was 9:00 am).

At about half past 9:00, the bride and rest of the wedding party came bee-bopping up to the church, and within another 15 minutes or so, the music started thumping, and the party had started!

Malawian weddings are the bomb!!

There's none of this marching solemnly down the aisle to music whining from a pipe organ. OH, NO!... We quite literally danced down the aisle to some gospel/R&B/African music with the base maxed out and the speakers about to pop! It was this white boy's dream come true!



I had spent the last 3 days in rehearsal perfecting my dance steps that I would have to perform in front of an excited crowd of people I didn't know. When I rounded the corner of the door that I was hiding behind, and started my jig, everyone started yelling.


It was KRUNK!

Now... as the "Best Man" in a Malawian wedding, I pretty much just had one responsibility: Whipping sweat from the grooms head.

No lie...

It was definitely needed too. We were wearing really thick suits, and the temperatures were just above 100*F most of the day. I think I sweated off about a gallon or more of sweat throughout the day. By the end of the night, by hankerchief, along with my suit, was ready to be wrung out like a dish cloth!

So... throughout the ceremony, it didn't matter what important thing was happening, I would stand up in front of everyone and dab the beads of sweat from my dear friend's head. It was one of the most awkward things to me... but, completely expected from everyone else.

After about an hour and a half of sitting in a small, hot church building, the first scene was complete. And, once again, we danced out of the church the same way we danced in.

After the wedding, traditionally, everyone in the wedding party hops in a train of cars and literally parades around town, honking (hooting) their horns (hooters) for everyone to know they are married and celebrate with them.

After that, we were already getting a little worn out. So, it was rest time. The wedding party ended up at a relative's house for some traditional Malawian cuisine. We sat there for a few hours eating and waiting for the newly weds to receive some quick counseling from some experienced people... even though the reception was scheduled to start an hour earlier. No rush though... it's Malawi!

Well... if you thought that the ceremony was happenin', you soon realized that it was more like a funeral compared to the reception. I haven't been to a party like this back home!

The hall was packed with a few hundred people waiting for us to dance down the center aisle once again. This time, however, our dance steps were a little more scandalous!



I'll just go ahead and hand in my resignation now...

Once we were in our proper places on the front stage, the action started.

For the next 3 hours or so, non-stop streams of people danced to the front of the place and threw a constant flow of money at the bride and groom! I really think that we should do this in the States!! Or at least do it at my wedding...

Different groups of people would be called out over the overly amped sound system that was thumping with the latest tunes, and you would dance to the front with your pockets full of Kwacha.



One of the coolest things was watching people that don't have a whole lot of money to be throwing around, dance up to the front with the biggest smiles on their faces and throw their money with utmost joy! There wasn't a person in the place that wasn't gettin' down with it.

Meanwhile, I sat on the stage with the rest of the sharply dressed wedding party, occasionally getting up to move my hips a bit (much less frequently than I would have liked)!

Then at about half passed five, the party began to wrap up, us dancers danced our last dance out the door, and I hopped in the car heading back to my place with a huge smile on my face, and an amazing experience that I will remember for a lifetime!

These boys are my new best friends...

Special note: I had several comments from Malawians that I was the best Azungu (white boy) dancer they had ever seen! I should figure out a way to work that into a resume somehow...

If you want to see more pictures from the wedding, click here!

Zamathokozo (Thanksgiving)

Celebrating Thanksgiving in this setting is going to be an experience that I won't forget.

I know they are chickens... but it's the closest I'm gonna get!!

Of course, they don't celebrate this wonderful holiday in Malawi (or anywhere else in the world on the day that we do... just in case no one has told you that yet. I was pretty old before I knew that, so don't feel bad).

Maybe this year I will actually stop and take this special Thursday seriously.

Each year for me, the "thankfulness" aspect is always a little overshadowed by the super abundance of food (which I would love to wrap my mouth around right now). But, it seems like the majority of us kind of loose sight of what it's about. It's sadder still that most of us fail to be thankful every other day of the year for the amazing blessings we enjoy every hour of every day.

This year, I'm thankful for...

My Education...
This is something that I think every person in the West takes for granted. It's sad that because we are so sheltered from the rest of the world, we fail to see what an incredible thing it is to have an abundance of education literally at our finger tips. We are without excuse.

My heart breaks each time I talk to someone here that would give anything to be able to get a secondary school education. I don't think I ever realized how enabling an education is for someone... and how disabling the lack of can be.

I'm not sure why God chose to bless me the way He has with this, but for that, I am Thankful!

My Family, Friends and Supporters back home...
I have been blessed more in the last few months of my life than I have in a long time by people back home. From letters of encouragement, to care packages, to stories about how my experiences are effecting people around the world... I have been blessed! It is amazing to see how God can work in such amazing ways.

The Simple Things in life...
I'm thankful for things like Silence. For knowing what it feels like to go to bed in a village as soon as the sun goes down, because there is just nothing else to do once the light is below the horizon... and then waking up as soon as that light comes back up on the other side of the earth.

For showers from a bucket at 5:30 a.m. that wash all the sweat and dirt from the previous night away through the transparent reed walls that surround me.

For sitting around the porch with friends watching the rain flood our yard (and house in my case) on cold afternoons.

For learning how to cook from scratch all by myself... and after spending a few hours over the stove, to sit down and enjoy a meal in the solitude of my living room.

My Health...
While watching countless numbers of people wasting away in front of me... coughing uncontrollably... hungry... in pain... you realize really quick how fortunate you are to wake up each morning with a clean bill of health.

Even more... I have been here for 2-1/2 months, and have yet to have as much as a little stomach virus! That is just way more than a blessing!

Food Security...
I'm thankful that even here, I have all the food that I could ever need. I have never lived a day of my life in want of food.

I'm also thankful for food variety. I never realized how much of a blessing it is to grow up with the ability to taste foods from all over the world. The majority of people around the world eat the same "staple food" day in and day out, every day of their lives. It is a foreign concept to think about eating something different every day of the week.

Communications...
I'm thankful that with the click of a mouse or the ring of a phone, I can be in contact with the people I love in an instant! Just a few years ago, this wasn't possible for people moving to a place like Malawi. It definitely makes life much better when you are away from people for so long.


So... this year, I want to actually be thankful to the One that supplies me with more than I could ever imagine. I want to recognize not only the big things, but the little ones as well. I want to give glory and honor where it's due.

So, I take time to just sit back and remember and laugh and praise God for being so good!

It is well
Moyowo
With my soul
Ngwabwino
It is well, it is well with my soul!
Moyo wango ulitu bwino!

Happy Thanksgiving!!